Siemens wants to relocate jobs to Czech Republic in 2006

Siemens VDO, the electronic auto parts maker of engineering giant Siemens, wants to relocate part of its manufacturing activities in Wuerzburg, Southwest Germany, to the Czech Republic in mid-2006 in order to help cut costs, a company spokesman said on Friday. Siemens VDO's factory in the north Moravian city of Ostrava will specialise in the manufacture of technically less complex components, while the company would endeavour to retain as many jobs as possible in Wuerzburg, where the workforce numbers 1,600, the spokesman said. The powerful IG Metall labour union and employee representatives have long expressed concern that most of the Wuerzburg jobs could be relocated to the Czech Republic.